***TECH: 32 RPU Project - Roadster-izing a $50 Cab in 3 Simple Steps***

insperational!!!!!!!!wow

 

WOW!!! That is all I can say at this time.... WOW!!!

You, my friend, are an inspiration to us all!

 

Profoundly inspiring build! Makes me want to slow the hell down, and really think my way through the details. Great job!

 

Neal,

Great job, all those details make one sweet truck! I like how you put together the floor details as well. I also have a swiss cheese firewall, but no were as bad as yours! Your resurrection of parts is inpirational

I was trying to figure out which holes to patch up, that's what the letters are for.

 

Neal,

To add to an already long list of compliments ... amazing!

I always enjoy reading your posts.

I remember when you first started on this truck. I still haven't done anything with my pile of parts, but I keep longing for an open-top truck. We'll see which direction mine goes.

Thanks again.

 

And thank you again for the inspiration you gave me early on...



I have your rendering printed out and hanging in my shop.

Neal

 

Turned out awfully close to haring's rendering I'd say... It is an awesome piece of work in person.

 

You sir are living the Johnny Cash song. Have picked a color yet?

 

I have had several questions about how I removed the paint and rust from the cab.

For paint on flat surfaces, I use a razor blade in a scraper handle to get the bulk of it off...then I use a 3M red scotchbrite wheel on a 4-1/2" grinder.

For rust I use eletrolysis on anything I can fit in the 275 gallon plastic tank I have. I did the cab (in pieces) and doors. The frame and firewall were sandblasted, as will be the bed.

I then use a phosphoric acid product like "Must for Rust". After that is rinsed, cleaned and dried, I then DA everything, clean it real well again with brake-clean, and then apply Gibbs. Our climate is pretty dry, so things stay pretty good. I notice rusty handprints showing up here and there after about 6 months, but some more Gibbs and scotchbrite cleans it right up.

Cab Before...



This is after electrolysis..



This is after phosphoric acid and Gibbs..



Bedside before...



After electrolysis and DA (and some welding)...



Neal

 

Excellent work and a very cool pickup all the pix's are very nice and well done. Very cool indeed...............
Am just down th road from you in SLO Town...........

CRUISER

 

Thanks for sharing your project, its beautiful. Its refreshing to see someone on this board building a 32-34 pickup and not channeling it over a model A style chassis.

Nice work!

Dave

 

bttt for a great piece of tech

 

Someone asked about the floor tins.

All simple hand tools besides the bead roller. I first made posterboard templates...that was probably the most time consuming part.

Cut the shapes out in 20 ga cold roll with shears.

Hammered the pedal flares with a small ballpeen hammer into a hole in piece of wood. The wood was just a scrap that I keep by my drill press to drill into...so it already had the right sized hole.



Did the same for the steering column flare...just a bigger hammer and a larger radius cut in the wood.



The countersink for the screws was done with a simple dimple die that was made in the lathe...



The beads were done in the bead roller...



So here's the two finished tins and my high tech tools.



For sure, not perfect, but I'm happy the way they came out.



The trans tunnel was made with a shear, brake, hammer and panel bag, and a shrinker around the back flange.



Neal

 

The results are impressive. I have a variable speed bead roller; it will roll very slow if need be, so making little panels like above is probably easier than it looks, now that we know the secret.

 

Seems like a shame to put any carpet down there. You may as well show us photos of how you made the trans hump.

 

That is awesome! When I grow up I want to be able to fab like that

 

Neal,
Gotta say that I've been following this build for yrs! I was hoping that you'd be posting some pics. Man, My brother Bob would kill me if I were to do that to our $200.00 BB that we pulled out of Middletown,Lake CO. (he has a lot of sanblasting time in it-lol!) Believe me, I'd dig it as a rdstr pu.

You have done done a fantastic job on this build,The work is impeccable. It eyeballs just right!
Can't wait to see it on the road.

 

Great Job! Nice Truck.

 

man i hope one day i will have enough skill to do something like that!, probably not though.

 

Amazing job. It's all in the details which separates the men form the boys. This is more than making a roadster pick up. This is about using your head instead of outfiting your shop with every trick tool imaginable. Time, planning and commn sense rule here. I am curious about how you are bending the square tubing so tight without crushing the inside radius. Again, great job, and great post.

 

Lots of pie cuts and lots of welding.

Neal

 

Beautiful.

 

posts like this give everybody fresh, ideas of whats possible,what can be done, and how to do it. Its answered many of my questions, and showed me new ways to do them.

 

Now thats a roadster pickup. You actually have a bed that you can put something in. Like I always say, "If it isn't steel, it isn't real." You just proved my point. Nice job, the detail is fantastic. What do you do for a living and why? You should have your own rod shop.
________________________________________________________________--

Like I told the kid, "Your music's not too loud, it just sucks and so does OKC!"

 

As usual, magnificent work Neal. I knew this truck was going to be very cool when I saw it "live, in person" last year......impressive is not to say enough.

 

Wow awesome work, Ive learned alot from this thread. Thank you for writing it up.

 

Very Impressive!!!!!!!!!

 

bravo thats some fine fabrication